


Foxfire

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: Mc76 [9]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Blessings, Guilt, Hurt/Comfort, Kitsune, M/M, Magic, Missions Gone Wrong, Promises, Protectiveness, Secret Identity, Serious Injuries, Shapeshifting, Undercover Missions, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-11-13 09:14:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18028982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: What McCree didn’t notice was the bluish glow that flitted across the front window an hour later or the bright, too-knowing eyes that studied him from the hole in the wall before the fox slipped through once more, curling up on the ground just inside. It examined the human for a long moment, head tilted to the side as it gaze slipped to the weapon at its side, not fearful, but appraising before it sighed and shook itself, letting its head come to rest against its paws as it too settled in to sleep.It would be gone before the human woke.





	Foxfire

    It was the scuffling that alerted McCree to the fact that the abandoned house he had taken refuge in might not be as deserted as he’d thought it was. His hand immediately slipping to his gun, even as he carefully toed off his boots, cursing under his breath as the Spurs caught on a piece of litter, evidence that once upon a time someone else had used this place as shelter. Or were still using it he corrected, as he heard movement near the stairs, and now clear of his noisy boots he crept forward, gun raised as he peered through the gloom, the sliver of moonlight which had been a blessing while finding this place, now a disadvantage as barely any silvery light made it through the dust-covered windows. Even his sharp eyes were good enough for that and praying that he wasn’t going to regret this he reached for his communicator, turning it and flipping on the tiny torch hidden at the back.

   The light was almost blinding in the darkness, and he had to blink to clear his vision, tensing as there was a yipping sound from up ahead. He frowned, flicking the light towards the noise and cursing as the light glinted off bright eyes that glowed eerily for a moment, before he tilted the torch slightly to the sight, and sighing as he spied the owner of the eyes and the source of the noise. “What are you doing in here?” He asked the fox that stood frozen mid-step, it’s tail rigid behind it, as it studied him with brilliant blue eyes that stood out starkly against silvery-white fur. He tilted his head, having never seen a fox with those colours before, and trying to convince himself that he only imagined the almost human glint in the watchful gaze. “Go on, scat,” he said, a shiver working its way down his spine as the fox blinked at him, before turning and darting away, and for a split-second McCree could have sworn that he heard a chuckle on the wind and glimpsed more than one tail as the creature slipped through a crack in the wall.

_What the hell…?_

    Chalking it up to weariness after the long journey, and his near miss with the Talon Agents at the airport he shook his head and checked the rest of the house. Thankfully, apart from the odd tuft of white fur that suggested his furry friend was a frequent visitor, the rest of the house was long abandoned, covered in a thick layer of dust that muffled his movements as he moved from room to room. Whoever had lived here had apparently left in a hurry and considered the rusted Bastion unit he had passed in the woods it didn’t take much imagination to realise why, and beyond people drifting through and seeking shelter for the night no one had returned. A shiver of a different kind went down his spine and calling himself ten kinds of idiot for getting spooked he headed back downstairs.

    He set up camp in the corner of what had once been the living room, giving himself a good line of sight for the front door, although he doubted that anyone would have been able to follow the path he’d taken through the woods. Still, better safe than sorry, a voice that sounded suspiciously like a mixture of Gabriel and Ana muttered in the back of his mind, and he grimaced, making a note to spend more time with Genji and some of the younger agents before he started to sound too much like his commanding officers. Speaking of… Making himself as comfortable as he could, he reached for the communicator again, typing in the encryption code and waiting for Athena to connect him to Blackwatch.

_“McCree?”_

“Just letting you know I’m alive, and about two miles out from the target.”  There was a brief moment of silence, and he could imagine Reyes studying the map, and noting his location, shaking his head as he heard the older man muttering under his breath for a moment before he asked, voice abruptly sharp again.

_“Any trouble?”_

“They were expecting me, I nearly had some company at the airport, but I gave them the slip.” It was a sign of how far they had come that Reyes didn’t ask if he was sure, instead, humming under his breath.

_“Not unexpected, it just means you’ll have to be cautious.”_

“So, no bursting in and shooting them in the face?” McCree teased leaning back, although there was no trace of a smile on his face as he glanced down at the gun lying ready beside him. _Not unexpected,_ the words needled him, as did the meaning behind them. They’d known that there was a mole for a while, although they’d yet to have any look tracking them down, but he didn’t like the reminder or the confirmation, especially as they both knew there was a high chance that they might’ve painted a bullseye on McCree for this mission. “I’ll be careful,” he promised, when the silence dragged out, although they both knew that he couldn’t really guarantee that, and it was there in the sigh that followed.

_“Good, and make sure to report in daily.”_ McCree hummed non-committedly to that, knowing that if things went south, then that might not be a promise he could say. Unsurprised when the call cut off a few seconds later, his boss terrible at farewells at the best of times, let alone when he wasn’t happy about a mission. Slipping the device back into his pocket just in case, he lent further into the wall, tipping his hat slightly, although not enough to obscure his view of the door and let his eyes close, slipping into a wary, half-doze with practised ease.

    What he didn’t notice was the bluish glow that flitted across the front window an hour later or the bright, too-knowing eyes that studied him from the hole in the wall before the fox slipped through once more, curling up on the ground just inside. It examined the human for a long moment, head tilted to the side as it gaze slipped to the weapon at its side, not fearful, but appraising before it sighed and shook itself, letting its head come to rest against its paws as it too settled in to sleep.

It would be gone before the human woke.

****

    McCree woke to the intense feeling of being watched, but when he moved, snatching up his gun to scan the room, there was nothing in sight. _Next time, Genji can have the mission in the middle of nowhere with a creepy old house for shelter,_ he thought with a grumble, returning his weapon to his holster and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, as he checked what time it was. Not even six a.m., even his internal clock was playing tricks on him, although as he glanced at the window, just able to make out the sky that was slowly bleeding into indigo with the promise of dawn, he decided that maybe it wasn’t a bad thing if he wanted to do some scouting.

   Breakfast consisted of a hastily consumed MRE bar and the dredges of the now cold coffee from his travel flask, and then he was up and moving, retrieving his boots and removing the spurs entirely, leaving them in the corner to recover later and checking his gun.  The unnerving feeling of being watched returning as he stepped out into the chill, early morning air, but this time he resisted the urge to reach for his gun. He had been hunted by humans enough times to know that this wasn’t a human gaze, and when a quick scan of his surroundings showed nothing but frost-dipped trees, he scowled and turned away, muttering to himself that he was too old to be imagining ghosts.

    Missing the soft chattering noise, that was almost laughter, as the fox followed him in the shadows, bright blue eyes narrowing as he realised what direction the human was taking. It almost turned back then, but curiosity and a long-forgotten itch had it sighing and continuing to trail after the black-clad man.

*

    The feeling of being watched didn’t disappear, but McCree pushed it to the back of his mind as soon as the house was out of sight, knowing that he was going to need to have his wits about him from here on out, especially if Talon knew he was in the area. Still, it was an uncomfortable itch between his shoulders, and despite his best intentions, he found himself glancing behind him more than once as he pressed further into the woods.

    However, soon he was distracted by searching for a sign of human activity, hoping that even if Talon had been aware that he – or at least someone from Blackwatch was coming, that their confidence in their security and the out of the way location that no one could just stumble upon would have made them a little careless. Otherwise, it was going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack, as whoever, they had been using lately had displayed a streak of cunning and foresight that had left Blackwatch on the wrong foot for the past couple of months. Playing catch-up was getting old, and McCree knew that was a large part of the reason why he was here, despite Reyes’ misgivings and the risks surrounding their leak. They needed to regain their edge before it was too late, and that meant they needed information, and so far the only hint they’d had, had led here to the most remote region of the Black Forest.

   He almost missed the sign that he had been looking for, a flash of blue light in the corner of his eye drawing his attention across to a dense cluster of pine trees on the other side of the narrow track that he had been following. When he turned towards it there was no sign of the light, and he might have ignored it, were it not for his keen eyes spotting the wire flitting between the branches as a cold breeze stirred the trees, and with a muffled curse he fell back, ducking behind the shelter of a tree.

    Pressing back against the trunk, he peered around the edge, locating the wire again, a too dark patch against the vibrant colours of the tree and tracing it upwards. It took him a couple of minutes of searching, not helped by the breeze that kept moving branches in all directions, but finally, he spotted the tiny camera nestled high up on the trunk. He guessed that it had probably been hidden at some point, spying the remains of what looked like a nest beneath it, but between wildlife and the wind it had become uncovered, and no one had noticed. What he didn’t know though was whether that marked the entrance to the talon facility, or whether it just meant he was on the right path. And as much as he longed to just take it out with a shot and go in the front door, he remembered Reyes warning and knew that a camera going dead would be as good as shouting ‘here I am’.

    He waited a moment, weighing his options, before beginning to slip out from behind the tree, hoping to circle around to the other side of the cluster of trees, locating any other cameras that he could. But he had barely taken a step, before the feeling of being watched returned, and he glanced around only to freeze, as he realised that this time he wasn’t imaging things because there between the trees sat the fox from before. It met his gaze, seeming to deliberately seek it out, before it made a yipping noise before bounding between the trees, only to pause after a few feet, glancing back over its shoulder at him. There was a challenge in the eerie eyes, a silent demand, and despite himself, McCree found himself following, casting a last glance back at the hidden camera, before shaking his head and praying that he wasn’t making a mistake. Although there was no way, he was going to be reporting this part to Reyes, even if it did turn up any answers.

     He’d had a fleeting worry that he would lose the nimble creature amongst the trees, especially as it seemed to deliberately seek out the narrowest paths, passing untouched by brambles and branches that left McCree scratched and cursing. However, whenever he got tangled up or threatened to fall behind the fox would halt, watching him with such a sense of exasperated patience, that McCree was becoming increasingly convinced that there was more to this creature than met the eye. It crossed his mind that it could be a Talon trick, but after the fox halted him with frantic yips twice more, leading to the location of two more cameras, he doubted it, although his fingers never left his gun.

*

   He wasn’t sure how long they had been travelling for when the fox came to an abrupt halt, it’s fur on end, trembling as it looked at something ahead. Not about to dismiss the creature’s instincts that were probably a lot sharper than his, McCree drew his gun, even before he caught sight of dull grey walls between the trees ahead. _Well, I’ll be damned,_ he thought as he immediately crouched, trying not to react when the Fox mimicked him by sinking down onto it’s front. He had studied the maps of this area extensively, and while he was one hundred per cent sure of his current location, he knew that this building hadn’t been on them. It seemed to be nestled in an area where the ground dipped, making the surrounding forest appear taller, which explained in part why it hadn’t shown up on the satellite issues, although he knew that Talon would have other defences in place to hide it from view.

    Still reluctant to lower his weapon, he fumbled one-handed for his communicator, not for the first time thankful for Winston’s ingenuity at combining so many purposes into one tiny device, as he moved to the GPS and marked the spot on the map. Blinking as he realised that he had travelled a lot further than he’d thought and that it might have taken him days to find it if he had been searching on his own as it was outside the original search parameters he’d been given, and his eyes narrowed as he glanced towards his furry companion. Seemingly sensing his gaze it turned, visibly still on edge, and stared at him with what could only be called human curiosity, and he brought his gun up, aiming it at the creature.

“What the hell are…?” He didn’t get the chance to finish the question, before the fox was moving, darting to the right, and once again McCree had the fleeting impression of more than one tail as he rolled to the side to get a better lock on it. Just as there was muffled thunder from up ahead and the bark on the tree behind where he had been stood a moment before disintegrated under a hail of gunfire. McCree cursed, ducking under cover as best he could, forgetting the fox as he searched for the shooter, but whoever it was, was well concealed and gritting his teeth he hunkered down where he was. It occurred to him that if the fox hadn’t moved, then he would have been dead in an instant, and he didn’t know how to feel about that. Instead, deciding to focus on how the hell to get out of here without getting shot, knowing that he needed to regroup before attempting to get inside now that he knew where it was.

    Unfortunately, they had the advantage and given the angle of the bullets the high ground too, and they knew he was here. There was a chance he would be able to slip away unnoticed, but he didn’t like the odds, however, as the other option was waiting here until they sent out a ground team and hoping that he could hold out against greater numbers he didn’t have much choice. He gathered himself, muscles bunching as he prepared to dart out from under his cover when blue filled his vision, and he felt back with a barely muffled shout of surprise as a small ball of sky-blue flames danced in front of his face. It bobbed there for a moment, as though just as surprised as he was, before darting away through the trees, only to halt as it realised that he hadn’t moved, floating back to him, before shooting away again.

“I’m definitely going mad,” he muttered under his breath, glancing back in the direction the gunfire had come from and taking a deep breath before he lunged forward, spraying mud and leaves everywhere as he followed the dancing ball of flames, as it wove its way between the trees. Leading him down a different path than he had come by, and it took him a while to realise that he was being guided in a wide, meandering arc back in the direction of the house he had used the night before.

     They were still in the middle of the forest when the flames came to an abrupt halt, swirling around him for a moment, a gentle warmth that chased away the chill that had been seeping in before they disappeared with a barely audible pop. Somewhat out of breath after the dash to this point, he took a moment to catch his breath, feeling strangely alone without the flames to guide him, but just as he was straightening, he felt eyes on him again. And sure enough, when he lifted his head, the fox was back, sat between two trees and watching him with too-blue eyes.

“Thank you.” The words crept out, sounding deafening in the silence, and the fox yipped softly, and something softened in the eerie eyes, leaving him with the distinct feeling that his words had been understood. Then it stepped forward, bounding towards him with purpose, and too late McCree spied the glint of metal beneath the leaves it through up with its movement, his warning shout ringing out just as the jaws of the trap snapped shut, and an awful, high-pitched howl rang out.

 


End file.
